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WILDCATS #27
"Idaho Falls"
Recommended (7/10)
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DC Comics/Wildstorm Productions
Writer: Joe Casey
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colors: Larry Molinar & Grant Goleash
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
When Casey and Phillips
first came onto this series, they were tying up loose ends, old continuity and
weak stories and that showed through in their work. It wasn't until they got a
chance to cut loose on their own that they really showed us how great the book
could be, and with this issue (and probably the next) they're suffering a
similar problem. Casey is still dealing with old continuity and also trying to
tie up loose ends so that he can get a clean restart for the mature readers
incarnation of the title. I enjoyed a lot of what this issue had to offer, but
even with my moderate knowledge of the past of these characters, I was lost as
to what was going on about half the time, and while the story is definitely
entertaining it is also definitely flawed.
Continuing the strange relationship between
Grifter and Zealot, this issue finally puts the two together for something
besides sex and violence. They start to talk, and that's where the problems come
in, both for the characters and the readers. For the characters, their complex
relationship has devolved into a sort of love-hate relationship, and both of
them seem to be fighting various feelings at various times. For the reader, if
you don't know the intricate details of Zealot's life and seeming death, you're
going to be lost as to what they're talking about and may not even be able to
figure out who this woman is, beyond the basic knowledge that she's an assassin
who was once Grifter's lover and that she died.
As with the stories that were eventually
collected into "Vicious Circles," the story is going in several directions at
once. Instead of tying up the story of Emp and Kenyan, Casey and Phillips are
setting up status quo for Grifter, Zealot, Jeremy/Maul and Priscilla/Voodoo.
Jeremy's scene is interesting but feels like a bit of an interruption, clearly
there to bring him (and his watcher) into the fold as regular characters.
Voodoo's scenes make a nice segue into the next issue, at least, and are
probably some of the stronger scenes in the issue.
While I'm often at a loss to understand the
characters' situations through their dialogue, the visual storytelling is always
clear. Phillips does a fantastic job on the diner scene in the early part of the
issue, and then sets up a completely different type of confrontation in a motel
room. His action sequences are action-movie worthy, with a fantastic sword fight
between Zealot and the Coda and brutal, realistic use of guns for effect. In
addition, Phillips and his colorists really give the book a nice hazy feel, as
if everything is taking place on the shadowy borders of society, and I think
that the new artist on the mature readers book is going to have his work cut out
for him maintaining that atmosphere.
This is by no means a bad issue... in fact, there's a lot to like. But given how excellent Wildcats has been of late, I was disappointed to see
that this one was more like Casey's early work on the title, before he had found
his feet.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
